c1770 Hand Coloured Lithograph of the Lateran Obelisk in Rome for a Zograscope

Description

Colour Plates, Illustrated, Very Scarce

A fascinating and beautifully hand-coloured print made for a Zograscope, a type of optical viewer which was popular during the latter half of the eighteenth century. 

This print shows, reversed, a view of the Place de St. Jean de Latran, from the hospital side, with the Lateran Obelisk in the foreground. 

The Lateran Obelisk is the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, made for Pharaohs Thutmose III and the IV in around 1400 BC. The obelisk was moved to Rome in 1588, where it still stands.

This print has been enhanced, with various cutouts to the print, underlaid with an additional illustrated sheet adhered to the reverse, giving the print more depth, i.e. with details to the windows, rather than being blank, as seen in other examples.

Trimmed, lacking the margins and captions, which detailed the view, and the buildings seen.

Bookplate to the reverse of Michael and Megan Dawson to the reverse, a husband and wife who established a successful business dealing in and restoring pop-up books.